{"id":676,"date":"2011-08-06T16:56:06","date_gmt":"2011-08-06T16:56:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fanagrams.net\/blog\/?p=676"},"modified":"2011-08-06T16:56:06","modified_gmt":"2011-08-06T16:56:06","slug":"shakespeare-wrote-doggerel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fanagrams.com\/blog\/2011\/08\/shakespeare-wrote-doggerel\/","title":{"rendered":"Shakespeare Wrote Doggerel"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">For about 2 years my mother and I worked together on a book of children\u2019s poetry called Ned\u2019s Journal, which described the \u201csmall and big life adventures of Ned,\u201d a 10 year old boy.<span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 We were pleased to secure a publisher, Tatra Press, whose only previous publication was a guide to men\u2019s clothing.<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 While the book sold briskly in the 60045 zip code, sales fell dramatically off outside our home town\u2013 in fact there were virtually none \u2013 but that didn\u2019t really matter.<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 The principle goal was to get the book published.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">My mother-in-law, who fashions herself as an arbiter of art and good taste, took a look at the book and said, \u201cWhy this is doggerel!\u201d<span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 I bristled and gave Pat an unrecognized withering look.<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 But then I realized that Ned\u2019s Journal had that universal doggerelish beat of da-DAH, da-DAH, da-DAH\/ dah, DA-da-da, DA-da-da dah.<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 Then my pride of authorship kicked in and I thought yes, Pat is right, this is doggerel, but it was damn fine doggerel.<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 The issue really was why doggerel was dismissed as an art form.<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 I wondered how this poetic genre had gotten its poor reputation but had to go no farther than the on-line definitions of doggerel.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\"><strong>From Wikipedia<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Doggerel<\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> describes verse<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> considered of little literary\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">value. The word is derogatory, from Middle English<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">.<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Almost by definition examples of doggerel are not preserved, since if they have any redeeming value they are not considered doggerel. <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Doggerel might have any or all of the following failings:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman;\">trite, cliche<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">, or overly sentimental content <\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman;\">forced or imprecise rhymes<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman;\">faulty meter<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">misordering of words to force correct meter <\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">From <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dictionary.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff; font-family: Times New Roman;\">www.dictionary.com<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">dog\u00b7ger\u00b7el<\/span><\/strong><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\"><br \/>\nn.\u00a0\u00a0 Crudely or irregularly fashioned verse, often of a humorous or burlesque nature.<strong><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The derogatory tone of both these definitions is dispiriting, one can almost sense the contemptuous sniff from the anonymous Wikipedia author.\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">If one judges literary value by what is taught in colleges, well, yes, doggerel may be wanting, but my contention is that doggerel is important to our lives and it should not be so cavalierly dismissed as an art.<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How many wedding albums include yellowed pieces of paper memorializing the awkward verse of a toast, how many birthdays and anniversaries are enlivened by friends and family standing up, willing to embarrass themselves by singing a poorly metered verse in a quavering and off-key voice?<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Such efforts are typically greeted with joyful groans and cheers in acknowledgement of the creative effort reflecting heartfelt good wishes.<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We all might like to write sonnets like Shakespeare, but realistically we settle for doggerel.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">According to Wikipedia, overly sentimental content is a fatal flaw, but as I was sitting in church this past Sunday leafing through the hymnal, it occurred to me that many of these Presbyterian hymns could be classified as doggerel based on sappiness, to wit:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Now the darkness gathers, stars begin to peep,\u00a0b<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">irds and beasts and flowers soon will be asleep.<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">When the morning wakens, then may I arise, p<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">ure and fresh and sinless, in thy holy eyes.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Don\u2019t you agree that these verses to the hymn \u201cNow the Day is Over\u201d seem trite and oversentimental?<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">And I am sure that I could find other hymns with off kilter meter to show that our treasured hymns fulfill multiple criteria for doggerel.<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The online dictionary definition also states that doggerel can be defined by its \u201chumorous and burlesque nature.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Here I see an opportunity to elevate doggerel to the rarified status <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fanagrams.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/shakespeare.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-677\" title=\"shakespeare\" src=\"http:\/\/www.fanagrams.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/shakespeare-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>of Shakespeare, since this towering linguistic icon suffuses all his plays and sonnets with incessant sexual puns and innuendos \u2013 the type of sophomoric puns that could be punctuated by a rimshot and an audience groan, progressing to burlesque, bawdy and then downright raunchy references.<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Shakespeare had the challenging task of appealing both to the masses and the English courts.<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Plays were wildly popular in Elizabethan England, and it is estimated 1 in 8 Londoners went to a play every week, ranging from the lowly laborers and apprentices, to country gentlemen, to aristocrats to Queen Elizabeth herself.<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Apparently bawdy and raunchy sexual wordplay was a real crowd pleaser across the entire spectrum of society.<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The sexual puns that would be obvious to Shakespeare\u2019s audience are now interpreted by modern readers as the epitome of English eloquence, simply because half of the time we probably don\u2019t realize what Shakespeare is really talking about.\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">By cross referencing \u201cdoggerel and Shakespeare\u201d into Google, I stumbled across an interesting book called \u201cFilthy Shakespeare,\u201d which translates Shakespeare\u2019s jargon into today\u2019s vernacular.<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">One of the first things you appreciate is the overwhelming number of idioms for \u201cpenis.\u201d<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Basically you can assume that anything that is longer than it is wide is a phallic symbol.<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Also Shakespeare\u2019s name itself is a sexual pun, since Will was a colloquialism for penis,<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">vagina and sexual desire.<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">And sorry to report this, but the word Shakespeare can roughly be translated to \u201cmasturbator.\u201d<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">So you can only imagine the kind of teasing the poor kid had to put up with.<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Examples of Shakespeare\u2019s idioms for male sexual organs include (but are certainly not limited to): beggar, carrot, dewlap, holy-thistle, instrument, kicky-wicky, little witness, needle, pizzle, potato-finger, pudding, three-inch fool and weapon.\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The corresponding female idioms are more numerous than males and include bird\u2019s nest, bogs, dearest bodily part, low countries (including the <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Netherlands<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">), medlar, rudder, salmon\u2019s tail, snatch, tongue and velvet.<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Puns on sex itself include:<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">boggler, change the cod\u2019s head for the salmon\u2019s tail, dance with one\u2019s heels, dribbling dart of love, fill a bottle with a tun-dish, horsemanship, nose-painting, paddling palms and tickle one\u2019s catastrophe.<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">And I am just scratching the surface here.<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Shakespeare certainly did not have to depend on clever idioms to get his point across.\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The following is an example of his signature word play, where the word \u201cwill,\u201d repeated 13 times, can mean either Will (referring to a Christian name), or \u201cwill\u201d referring to either a penis or vagina.<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In this sonnet, the Poet wonders if he can join the ranks of the Beloved\u2019s lovers:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">Whoever hath her wish, thou hast thy Will,<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">And Will to boot, and Will in overplus.<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">More than enough am I that vex thee still,<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">To thy sweet will making addition thus.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">With thou, whose will is large and spacious, <\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">Not once vouchsafe to hide my will in thine?<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">Shall will in others seem right gracious, <\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">And in my will no fair acceptance shine?<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">The sea, all water, yet receives rain still,<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">And in abundance addeth to his store;<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">So thou, being rich in will, add to thy Will<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">One will of mine to make thy large Will more.<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">Let no unkind no fair beseechers kill;<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">Think all but one, and me in that one Will.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">Okay folks, here is the translation from one Paula Kiernan, author of Filthy Shakespeare:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><em><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u201cWhile other women can only wish for sex, your sexual desires are fulfilled by your Will, and you\u2019d get my penis in the bargain, in fact you would get an excess of sex.<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">I can perform better than all of your lovers put together and I will keep tormenting you with my sexual advances.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">Will you not, with that vagina of yours which is large and spacious from so much use by other men, let me hide myself in you?<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">Are other men better endowed, and I cannot measure up?\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The sea is all water, but it still receives rain, and adds to it abundantly.\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It\u2019s the same with you.<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Even though you are already rich in the number of your lovers, I am asking that you accept me as a lover.\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">I am already aroused and my penis has grown larger.<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\"><em><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Please stop saying no to my reasonable advances.\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Think of all your lovers as being a single one, and treat me as the only one that you desire.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Now that we know what Shakespeare was talking about, I certainly think that this sonnet meets the burlesque and humorous criteria defining doggerel.\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">I thought it might be quite challenging to show that Shakespeare also meets the second important criteria for doggerel \u2013 that of faulty or awkward meter.<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">However, we need look no farther than the fourth line from the bottom (So thou\u2026).<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The sonnet is written in iambic pentameter, meaning that there are 5 pairs of words, with the accent on the second word in each pair.<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Each line should thus contain 10 syllables, but low and behold, this single line contains 11 syllables.<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Apparently Willy Shakes has played fast and loose with the rules of the sonnet game, force fitting the word \u201cbeing\u201d into one syllable!<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">I rest my case.\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Shakespeare wrote doggerel.<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">So the next time you raise a toast at a birthday, wedding or other event, and stand to read your little ditty, hold your head high &#8211; you are in the company of greatness.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<h6><em><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">The missing letters in the following poem are anagrams (i.e. share the same letters like spot, stop, post) and the number of asterisks indicates the number of letters.\u00a0 One of the missing words will rhyme with either the previous or following line. Your job is to solve the missing words based on the above rules and the context of the poem.\u00a0 Scroll down for answers.<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/h6>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">Doggerel in honor of Shakespeare<\/span><\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">For centuries mothers have had to\u00a0****** their children to pick up their clothes,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">I imagine a conversation between Ma Shakespeare and Will and here\u2019s how it goes.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u201cMother I doth protest mightily that into my quarters you have ******,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">And methinks your accusations of irksome slovenliness are wrongly charged.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">I shall be ****** in whatever artful raiment I so chooseth and what\u2019s more,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u2018Tis much simpler to pluck my garments when they are strewn on the floor.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0*<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman;\">*<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman;\">*<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman;\">*<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman;\">*<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman;\">*<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman;\">Answers:\u00a0 badger, barged, garbed<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nFollow Liza Blue on: <a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-follow synved-social-size-24 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-facebook nolightbox\" data-provider=\"facebook\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Follow Liza Blue on Facebook\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/fanagrams\/\" style=\"font-size: 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